Manchester City handed welcome boost from injury-hit star following hamstring fears | OneFootball

Belgium have no fitness concerns surrounding Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne ahead of their crunch European Championship clash.

The 32-year-old will captain Belgium against Romania at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne on Saturday evening, with Kevin De Bruyne and his international teammates facing the prospect of early elimination from the tournament without a positive result.

Belgium suffered a surprise 0-1 loss to Slovakia on Monday, as Ivan Schranz capitalised on Jeremy Doku’s early mistake, and Romelu Lukaku had two second-half goals disallowed following VAR reviews.

Belgium, who crashed out of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, are at risk of exiting the European Championship in similar fashion, with the potential for the tournament to be Kevin De Bruyne’s last for his country.

The Manchester City midfielder, who turns 33 this month, was sidelined between August and January after undergoing surgery for a recurring hamstring injury.

De Bruyne returned for Pep Guardiola’s side in early 2024, registering 24 assists in 26 appearances for Manchester City across the 2023/24 campaign, as the Sky Blues won a record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title.

The latest title triumph was De Bruyne’s sixth with Manchester City, although the Belgian has been linked with a potential exit from the Etihad Stadium this summer, with Saudi Arabia circling with a big-money offer.

The 32-year-old is out of contract with Manchester City at the end of next season, and De Bruyne is currently the most senior member of the Blues’ squad, having moved to east Manchester in 2015.

The midfielder’s recent hamstring problems forced De Bruyne to be taken off during last year’s UEFA Champions League Final in Istanbul, with the player opting to undergo surgery after a fresh setback last August against Burnley.

The Daily Mail report that there are ‘no lingering concerns’ about De Bruyne’s hamstring issues which ‘niggled away for years’ within the Belgian camp, as the 32-year-old chooses to stay behind after training to practice shooting and long range passing.

De Bruyne could make his 102nd appearance for Belgium this weekend, with the midfielder having marked his 100th cap with a goal during a pre-tournament friendly earlier this month.